I often work with clients to facilitate an “after-action review” at the end of a project to discover pitfalls and opportunities for improvement for the next project. So I was thinking….why not do this with your team at the start of this new year? Discover key learnings about the year so you can prepare for the year ahead!
Here are the key questions to ask your team (and preferably in this order):
- What did we set out to achieve this past year?
- What was our plan to achieve this?
- How did this change as we progressed?
- What went well and why?
- What surprised you?
- What frustrated you?
- What delighted you?
- What did you not see coming?
- What could have gone better?
- What advice would you give yourself if you were to go back to where you were at the start of the year?
- What were the two or three key lessons you would share with others on the team?
- Can you think of a story that summarizes your experience of the work you did this year?
- What should we have learned from this year that we need to take forward into the new year?
- Are there any lessons for you personally?
You can have each person come prepared to share their answers as a team OR just spring the questions on them and see what magic happens! Regardless, this is a great way to summarize and celebrate the past year and prepare for the new year!
If you like this activity, check out my book, Team Energizers, for 49 other team activities!
Related Articles:
How to Facilitate an After-Action Review
